Two elderly people died in a fire in Raleigh Friday night, the Memphis Fire Department said.

Lt. Wayne Cooke said the department received multiple calls around 9 p.m. of a fire in a two-story house in the 2800 block of Haughton.

"It was totally engulfed" in flames, Cooke said of the house.

The fire was under control just after 9:30 p.m. When firefighters entered the house to search it after the fire was out, they discovered the bodies of a man and women they believe were related but were not husband and wife, Cooke said.

He did not know their exact ages but said they were elderly. Their names have not been released pending identification by the medical examiner and notification of family.

Cooke said the fire started in the kitchen while the couple was cooking. The house sustained heavy damage, he said. The house next door suffered damage as well.

Reach Jennifer Pignolet at jennifer.pignolet@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @JenPignolet.